French prosecutors, on Tuesday, decided to open an official investigation into the death of the late Palestinian President, Yasser ArafatYasser Arafat, after his family claimed he had been poisoned.
Arafat died in a French Military Hospital on November 11, 2004, a month after being sick, while surrounded by the Israeli military in his Ramallah headquarters for more than two and a half years.
Arafat's family initiated legal action in France last month, over claims the Palestinian leader died of radioactive polonium poisoning.
French officials said, prosecutors had agreed to begin a murder inquiry, but they have yet to appoint an investigating judge, the report said, adding that the French legal system is obliged to take the matter very seriously, because of its diplomatic aspect, but the medical profession is generally skeptical about claims of radioactive poisoning.
After nine-month investigation conducted by Al-Jazeera concluded that Arafat’s personal belongings contained abnormally high levels of polonium-210, on his clothing supplied by his widow, Suha. They were then analyzed at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland.
However, the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne,responded that symptoms described in Mr Arafat's medical reports were not consistent with the element.
Suha Arafat's lawyer, Marc Bonnant, said the tests in Switzerland showed that Mr Arafat, in all likelihood, died through poisoning.
He added: "This hypothesis must be proved, and if that's the case, then it's premeditated murder."
Meanwhile, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Saeb ErekatSaeb Erekat, has said that the Arab League will call at the United Nations for an international investigation into the death of the late Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat.
The Palestinians believe that Israel is behind the assassination of Arafat, especially since Israeli leaders, in particular the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel SharonAriel Sharon, kept labeling him as an “obstacle to peace”.
In an unexpected reaction:
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, he hoped it would reveal more on the circumstances of Mr. Arafat's death. “This does not pertain to us. The complaint lodged by Suha Arafat with the French police does not address Israel or anyone in particular", he added.
If the French justice system has decided to open an investigation, we hope that it will shed light on this matter.
Opinion:
As for myself and many Palestinians, we are not relying so much on discovering the real reason behind the death of Arafat. What will the result of these investigations help us as Palestinians? The second question is, the material found on the clothes of Arafat, polonium-210 can not be bought from a supermarket. This material can only be found in nuclear reactors. Therefore, I think every reader got the point and knows exactly what I mean to say.
Giving a simple example on the Israeli courts, more or less in similar incident, yesterday, an Israeli court decided to reject accusations of negligence over the 2003 killing of American activist Rachel Corrie. An Israeli court had cleared Israel's military of any blame for the death of Corrie, who was crushed by an army bulldozer while trying to stop the demolition of a home in Rafah in southern Gaza.
This happened with an American citizen, unfortunately, neither America nor the American people really did anything on this provision. Based on what have been previously mentioned, if we prove that Israel is after killing Yaser Arafat, will Israel be judged for this ? or is it Arafat like Corrie like millions other..
I would like to know the killer, but I'm convinced, in advance, that he will not be brought to justice and more convinced that the justice of heaven will judge the killer better than the justice of the earth.
Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/2 8/us-france-arafat-idUSBRE87R0VY20120828
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug /28/france-yasser-arafat-death-murder?ne wsfeed=true
